Gaara's Bane
by Ohitsujiza-Chan
Summary: Kiku is Gaara's twin sister and at the end of his sick behaviour until his change of heart. Join her along a journey of her memories of the pain, sadness, happiness and love as she relives both her darkest and happiest memories with her siblings from the sand as well as a pleasantly plump mystery leaf shinobi.
1. Chapter 1

_Dear Journal, _

_Temari told me that I should write down all my thoughts and experience in a journal? I don't know, it sounds strange but maybe she's right. I mean she is my older sister after all so I need to listen to her and she has been like a rock to me over the last four years._

_Well, I'm Kiku. Just like my siblings I don't have a last name, I guess that just adds to our mystery. I was born as the youngest of the sand siblings and the twin sister of Gaara and that is where my problems lay. Being his younger sister was difficult. When we were younger Gaara and I couldn't be separated. Temari thought it was cute but at that age I saw Gaara as my only friend and my protector. I still do and seeing him as the __Kazekage_ _makes me so happy, he's made me proud to be his twin. Seeing Gaara as the heart of our village makes me realize just how much he has changed since our days as genin._

_I should start back there, at the beginning and the first memory of the leaf village and their jinchuuriki. Back then Naruto and Sakura were so different. We've all changed so much since then. Naruto is the hero of Konoha and Sakura is an amazing medical ninja which monstrous strength. I've changed too, of course my hair isn't as long as it was back then but you'll find out why soon enough. Oh, and I'm much taller. Well taller than Gaara is, which is quite funny and I'm his right hand woman for any work he needs done. They call me Lady Kiku but honestly I don't like it that much. _

_Oh I'm babbling again._

"Oh wow, it's so pretty!" Kiku exclaimed as the sand siblings walked into Konoha together. Her excitement was short lived as Gaara slowly glared over at her and forcefully grabbed her wrist to pull her along with him. As she winced he only grabbed her harder as they walked.

"Gaara-a, your hurting me" Kiku's words fell on deaf ears and the only reaction that her words got was a worrying look from Temari but her older sister did nothing to help her, after all Gaara even scared his own siblings. Though Kiku wasn't scared of him per say. She just didn't understand why he was so distant from his twin.

The group of sand shinobi had barely made it half way through the village before a group of genin had stopped in front of them. As Kiku looked over them she tried to hide behind her twin but with the tight grip Gaara had on her wrist it was impossible.

"Hey you! Let go off her!" The blonde haired boy shouted. His orange outfit and scruffy look made him look like a delinquent and the way the pink haired girl next to him whacked him round the heard, it seemed that her observation was correct.

"This thing belong to us" Gaara's voice was so emotionless and dry. Kiku was used to it by now, though one would never be used to being at the end of their twin's anger and hate. Being referred to as a 'thing' rather than a human or even a sibling to him put a look of pain on her face that seemed to be visible to all of the genin present.

"She doesn't look happy. I am Naruto Uzumaki and the future Hokage, believe it!" The cheeky grin and positive aura that he was animating was enough for Kiku to look up at him with hope it her eyes. However this hope was soon stomped out by Gaara tightening his grip on her wrists and her eyes shot to the ground.

"Please-e, brother..you are hurting me-e" Kiku's words were soft and gently unlike her brother. They were filled with sadness rather than the hate that fuelled her twin.

Her sea foam eyes gently trailed away from the dusty path and set on the blonde boy that called himself Naruto. There was something strange about it, it was as if he was the same as Gaara, but that seemed impossible. He was so open and out going while Gaara closed out everyone and made sure that only anger and hate were in his heart. The nagging feeling began to over take her mind as she watched him more carefully.

_There is something, but was is it? I'm sure he is like Gaara and I but he's so different from brother._

Kiku was sure that there was a similarity between Gaara and Naruto and she was going to make it her mission while she was still in the leaf village to find out what it was.

As Gaara let go out her wrist, he turned away and began to walk away from the leaf genin with Temari and Kankurō by his side. He had only taken a few steps before Naruto had pointed at him and yelled his words. Was he capable of speaking at a normal level?

"You! What is that on your back?!" He was point to Gaara's gourd.

Each sand sibling had their own way of battle. Kankurō was a puppet master and used his puppets to aid him in battle. Temari used a fan to assist her with her powerful wind style jutsu and Gaara had his sand. Kiku had a similar style to Temari but instead of the use of a fan she used multiple weapons to fight. She was known as a weapons expert back in Sunagakure. Kiku's speed and weapon handling were a fearful combination that was enough to keep her in the ranks with her siblings. As much as Kiku used different types of weapons, her favoured was the flamberge rapier that resided on her back. It was made with specific metal so that chakra would conduct through it and be used at her will. The serrated edges of the sword were enough to causes anyone a great deal of pain.

"That is a gourd, Gaara-sama uses it like I use my weapons and Termi-sama uses her fan or Kankurō-sama uses his puppets" As the words had left Kiku's mouth in a delicate and comforting tone she was pulled back and a pair of strong hands grabbed the back of her long white coat.

"That is enough, Kiku. Your such a pain!" Kankurō frowned at her as he pushed her to walk away from the leaf genin. Kiku nodded slightly and walked beside her siblings with her head hanging slightly, her Auburn hair handing down over her face. She shared both his eye and hair colour, however unlike her brother Kiku's hair hung down to rest mid way up her thigh with her sand headband tied around her forehead.

As the four sand siblings walked through the leaf village she rubbed her bruised wrist gently with a wince. It wasn't until she got a worried glance from Temari that she held onto her older sisters arm for some comfort. The look in Temari's eyes was one of regret but there was nothing she could of done, both sand kunoichi knew that. As much as Temari wanted to look out for her younger sister and keep her from harm, there was little she could do while being on Gaara's good side.


	2. Chapter 2

_After meeting Naruto I couldn't keep my mind from wondering. I knew he was the same and Gaara and I. Well maybe more so like Gaara but he was so happy and at the age of twelve I couldn't understand how. It's different now, I understand the difference's between the two but I also understand how similar the two boys are. It became clearer for me when the first section of the chunin exams came round why they were so alike._

* * *

><p>"But sis, I don't want to wear this around my wrist. I'm perfectly OK. It's just a little bruise" Kiku gave her sister a small smile as she played with the bandage around her wrist as the two kunoichi walked to meet the boys of their squad.<p>

Temari sighed at her younger sisters words and stopped walking. Silence filled the air before she kneeled down in front of the red haired girl with fear in her eyes.

"Kiku, you understand that Gaara will keep hurting you if you act out like you did" Kiku's older sisters words made her pout a little as she crossed her arms.

"I'm not going to stop being myself, Temari. I will get through to him! I know I will. I want the Gaara I remember back. The one that protected me and held me when I was sad. The one that fell asleep with me when I had a nightmare about Shukaku and the one that never left my side. Even when he hurts me, even when he gets close to killing me I won't stop" Kiku lundged herself at Termi and buried her head in her sisters coat.

"Promise to never leave me like Gaara-a" The tears were now falling from the young genin eyes. Temari sighed gently and patted the top of Kiku's head with a confident smile to hide the pain and worry for her little sisters safety. This kunoichi knew that she couldn't stop Kiku from doing what she wanted due to having the stubbornness and pride of their father but Temari knew that she could protect her with her own life unless it came to protecting her against Gaara.

Once inside the examination area and waiting to enter the written exam the four sand siblings stood against the furthest wall. Kiku couldn't help but let her eyes wonder and they laid on a three person team of leaf genin. Her first thought was to walk over and say hello as they looked friendly, or at least two of them did. However her nerves of starting a conversation and the fear that her siblings would punish her for it clouded her mind. It took her a good ten minutes to build up the confidence to make the decision to finally say hello. With the determination firmly planted in her mind, Kiku used her fast speed to appear in front of the team with a bow.

"Hello, my name is Kiku" Her green eyes were trying to find somewhere to settle, that was until she looked at the only girl of the team.

"And I just wanted to say I really like your hair" It wasn't until the blonde girl spoke up that Kiku stopped playing with her hands and smiled sweetly.

" It's lovely isn't it? But yours is nice too, I mean how did you get it so long?!" Ino's excitement was being projected into her voice and it caused Kiku to develop a light blush on her cheeks as she ran her fingers through her long hair.

"Oh-h..well I've never had it cut" Her words brought a loud gasp to escape from Ino before she began to inspect Kiku's hair with her fingers.

"No way! That's insane, it's so long!"

"Yep!" Kiku beamed at the girl who had stopped looking at her hair and was smiling back at her. Their small conversation was interrupted when the bored looking boy let out a sigh.

"What a drag, your just like Ino. I'm Shikamaru and this is Choji" Kiku smile sweetly at them both and began to play with her fingers as she looked at them both.

"It's very nice to meet you, I'm from the Sunagakure and I really like your village. It's so different from home" Her words only received a nod from Shikamaru but it was Choji that caught her eye.

"Don't you have a last name?" This time it was Choji's turn to speak. His voice was full of curiosity and care but Kiku just shook her head with a small smile.

"The children of the Kazekage don't have last names, it's just something we've never had." The faces of the leaf genin looked confused and shocked at the news which caused Kiku to blush out of embarrassment and rub the back of her neck.

"Your the Kazekage's daughter?!" Ino shouted her words but Kiku still smiled at her, not wanting to seem offended or nervous but she didn't want to hover over the fact any longer.

"I am one of four, the youngest actually but was very nice to meet you all, I hope we could be good friends" Kiku let out a sweet giggle before she felt a dark aura behind her. It was clear by the looks of the leaf genins faces that something bad was behind her and it wasn't until they had grabbed her bruised wrist that she knew who it was.

"Brother, I...I was just trying to make some friends" Her words were soft and full of regret as she spoke. As he jerked her away from the team in front of her she let out a pain filled gasped from her wrist and allowed him to drag her back to Kankurō and Temari.

"You will never learn. We cannot have these so called friends, you have Shukaku inside you too. You are intended to harm not to heal. Remember our mission" Gaara's words were dripping with blood lust that send shivers down Kiku's spine as they hit her ears.

It was true that they both harboured Shukaku. However unlike Gaara, Kiku was the host to very little of the one tail's powers as an effect of being the second born twin. She harboured a great deal of the demon's chakra and blood lust on a full moon but that was the extent of it, the rest was sealed within Gaara.

Once the four siblings were together again Gaara dropped Kiku in front of him and her petite body slumped to the floor. The eyes of the many chunin that had been collecting in the room were making her relive the moments back in Sunagakure.

* * *

><p><em>A young Kiku was walking through the village with Gaara and their guardian. Kiku had a tight grip on gaara's hand and to comfort her he smiled at his twin. Back then they were inseparable and Gaara was comfortable around his sister.<em>

"_Isn't that the dangerous twins?"_

"_I don't know why they are allowed to stay here"_

"_Look at the girl, it's like she's never had a hair cut in her life"_

"_Well would you want to go near that monster?"_

_The hushed voices of the villages were loud enough for Kiku to be able to hear the awful things they were saying and her and Gaara. Their insults were enough to bring this young girl no older than five to complete tears but it wasn't until they had entered the house that Kiku began to sob into her hands._

"_Why does everyone hate us-s" Her words were barely audibly through the continuous crying she was doing but some how Gaara was able to understand what his twin was saying._

"_You know it's because of what we are..but don't worry" His change of tone caused Kiku to look up from her hands and stared at him._

"_I'll always be there to protect you..I promise" The promise he had made to her never left her heart and was the reason she carried on and became a strong weapons specialist that Sunagakure could be proud of and rely on._

* * *

><p>When Kiku had finished remembering the moment when she was her happiest she glanced up and saw that it was time for the exam and with that she followed her siblings into the examination area. It seemed that there was already a plan on where they were meant to sit. Once Kiku had been seated between two sound genin who either didn't want to be there or couldn't care less. Either way she was far from her siblings and anyone she could communicate with. When every genin was seated the rules and regulations were given too them. Kiku saw them as pretty straight forward. No cheating. Although when she saw the difficult questions on the test she didn't know how anyone in the room would be able to answer these questions without cheating..unless they needed to? As she glanced to the side of her Kiku noticed that the ninja to her right was indeed cheating and without hesitation she subtly put her hands together and closed her eyes. There was only one way that she would be able to get the right answers to the questions and that was by tapping into her connection with Gaara.<p>

_Of course, he won't want me to do this and I'll most likely get punished for using him this way but it's my only chance to pass this part of the test._

Once the connection between the pair had been made, Kiku began to write down the answers that Gaara was receiving by using his eye of sand jutsu. It may have been second hand cheating but at least she would be able to pass without fail. What did make her slightly nervous was the shouting of numbers that the protractor was doing to signal those who were caught cheating. When it came to the ninth question Kiku panicked and her telepathic connection with Gaara had been cut of. No doubt due to his anger and she didn't have another way to get the answer to the last question. When she looked round the room her nerves began to bubble up inside her. It seemed that most participants had finished the last question.

_Desperate times mean desperate measures._

Kiku put her hands into the ram sign and channelled her chakra to connect to the small presence that Shukaku had within her. If there was one was of getting the answer it was to ask her, that was if the demon would comply with her.

"What is it that you want, little girl"

"Please, Shukaku lend me the power to finish this exam and bring pride to my siblings. I need to pass so that the mission that was given to us by the Kazekage can be carried out"

"I see you still cannot bring yourself to call him father" The demons words felt as if a large streak was being forced through Kiku's fragile heart.

"We both know that isn't the case, I love him dearly even through what he had done in the past"

"If he wants me to be part of this mission, then I will but I need to pass this test. Gaara cut off our connection so please reconnect us."

"Although I despise your caring heart, I will grant you this but do not expect me to go easy on the full moon. You will find it hard to control the blood lust this time"

"I understand but I do not intend to kill again"

Kiku knew that making this bargain with Shukaku would come back to bite her later on but she couldn't think of that right now, not when it was essential that she passed this written test. Once she had gotten back through to Gaara, she wrote down the ninth answer and waited for the tenth question. While Shukaku's chakra was flowing through her chakra network she noticed something strange about the blonde haired boy she had met earlier. He had similar chakra to her but how? There was only one way that could be.

_A jinchūriki!? That's impossible!_

It became clearer to her the longer so focused on his chakra that he indeed held on of the tailed beasts within him although she wasn't sure which one and Kiku also wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe they did that to us!" Temari said angrily as she crossed her arms over her chest and walked along the path towards their hotel room.<p>

"I was a little scared that I wouldn't pass, I guess that was silly" Kiku smiled sweetly before Kankurō whacked her round the head softly.

"Your such a baka, it was obvious we had to cheat and anyway why the hell did you talk to those leaf genin before the exam. "

"Oh" Kiku played with her fingers again as she stared at the ground.

"They just seemed really nice and the girl had nice hair so I wanted to speak to her. I didn't see the harm in it"

"Do it again..and I'll kill you-" Kiku looked up at her twin as he spoke and nodded. His words made the other two sand siblings tense as they walked into the hotel but Kiku was used to his threats to kill her that she saw no need to feel that worried even if he tried. That was until he finished his sentence.

"The full moon is coming" It was that phase that struck fear into the very core of Kiku. After the deal she had made with Shukaku the fear began to grow within her tiny heart about how she would act during the night. Gaara would be left to his own devices as usual. There was no point getting in the way of him and his need to kill but Kiku was slightly different.

As much as she didn't want to kill the pain of the blood lust effected her differently to her brother and it wasn't something she enjoyed going through but it was better than having someone's life on her conscious.


	3. Chapter 3

_During the short break between the first and second parts of the exam, I got to spend some time with Ino and her team. It was at this point that I began regretting the mission I had been set by the Kazekage. Although I must admit that looking back at it now this is was the first time I had spent some time with the friends that I have continued to hold dear to my heart and I can assure you, journal I still have the appetite of a hungry cow and still quite thin. I really was luckily for being premature in the end. Funny how things turn out._

* * *

><p>"So you really are the Kazekage's daughter?"<p>

"Yes, Ino!" Kiku let out a little giggle at Ino's constant amazement as they laid on the grass in one of the many fields that was present within the leaf village.

"Though we don't talk about it much, most people in Sunagakure try to avoid us as much as possible. Gaara and I scare them for some reason" Kiku knew the reason. It was because of the demon that was sealed inside them but she wasn't about to ruin the first friendship she was able to form that wasn't Temari.

" As long as you stay away from my Sasuke then we can be friends!"

"Who's Sasuke?" The look on Ino's face was one of anger but it quick dissipated as hearts developed in her eyes.

"He's this supper handsome, smart and just all round perfect boy! He's cold to everyone and it just makes him cooler"

"Oh that boy I saw with Naruto? I'm not interest. I'm really not interested in anyone" Kiku looked at the cloud with a slight sigh.

"I don't really know what it like to love other than what I am told to love." Ino was about to argue against Kiku's statement but before she had time to speak there were two pairs of footsteps making their way towards them.

"What a drag. Ino were meant to be meeting Asuma sensei at the restaurant. Hurry up" With Shikamaru's words the blonde girl stood up and nodded.

"Coming! Sorry kiku I have to go" And with that Ino began to walk away with both Shikamaru and Choji. Once the genin were far enough away from her to hear anything she said, Kiku looked down at her hands.

"Alone again"

It wasn't until she felt droplets of water hit the palms of her hands that she realized she had began to silently cry. A small gasp escaped her lips as she felt a presence in front of her. As Kiku looked up she quickly wiped the tears away and stared at the spiky haired Akimichi who stood in front of her. Her nervous trait began to resurface and caused her play with her hands as he spoke.

"Come along with us, Kiku. You'll be alone if not" The cheeky smile that spread across his face brought a giggle to Kiku's lips and she nodded. As much as Kiku knew that she would be the odd one out between the three friends and their sensei that didn't stop her from running back to Ino and Shikamaru with Choji and enjoying their company.

As the group of young genin walked towards Yakiniku. Kiku came to find out that it was Choji's favourite place to eat and that he did indeed eat a lot. It was this that Ino moaned about but Kiku saw nothing wrong with it, after all she ate a lot for her small size.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with eating a lot, I mean the amount I can consume worries my older brother sometimes." The smile that was planted on Kiku's face was so sincere and genuine that it made Choji beam out of happiness.

"But your so small, do you really eat that much?" Choji's words were ones of disbelief and with that Kiku tapped her nose gently with a small smirk.

"Don't underestimate me because a small girl. I just never put on any weight" With her words Ino poked Kiku's stomach to see if there was indeed anything there.

"That is so unfair! I have to watch everything I eat and there's you eating like a pig and never putting on any weight!" Ino groaned loudly but her statement made Kiku blushed a deep scarlet as they walked into the restaurant.

* * *

><p>Kiku had been sitting in the corner of the booth for a while now, it was as she expected. The leaf residents forgot she had joined them for dinner. It wasn't as if she minded that much, after all at least she wasn't sitting alone. As she piled food into her mouth she felt the eyes of their sensei watch her careful. His gaze caused her to go a deep red colour as she stuffed her face with food. Once she had finished her current plate she putt it down and slowly looked up at him.<p>

"Have..have I done something wrong, sir?" Her voice was wavering. Kiku assumed that the jounin in the leaf would be the same as back in the sand but when Asuma let out a deep chuckle Kiku felt stupid for assuming such things.

"Not at all, it's just not every day you see such a small girl eat as much as Choji!" It was with this that Ino started to shout again.

"And she's so tiny as well! If this is what Taijutsu does I want to learn!"

"Oh..erm..well it's not just that, my brother and I were born this way. It's just lucky I guess" Kiku gave Ino a fake closed eye smile before picking up some more beef and putting it in her mouth.

Once the group had finished their food a dark aura came over Asuma when she say the bill.

"I'm going to be put out of house and home at this rate" With his words Kiku placed down some notes on the table which got all four of them staring at her.

"It's nothing really and with the amount I ate, I couldn't ask you to pay for it" Kiku smiled sweet at them all before slowly bowing her head.

"How does a genin have this amount of money?" Asuma's question was answered when Ino began to shout.

"She's the Kazekage's daughter that's how!"

_Ino, I wish you wouldn't tell everyone about that. It's not as if he is really a father to any of his children and with this mission, I'm starting to feel bad about it. I don't want to destroy the home of such good people._


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear journal,_

_I'm going to save you from the pain and boredom that comes with the second section of the chunin exams. Being part of Gaara's team meant that we got through the forest in record time without a scratch on us. To be honest I felt useless against my siblings. After all I couldn't wield the sand like Gaara or control puppets like Kankurō. If anything I was more like Temari than anyone else but even then she was far more experienced with weapons than I was and the mission was growing closer but before that was the inevitable full moon._

_Journal, let me tell you something. I have never felt any pain that comes close to that full moon night. It was hell, maybe it was my own fault for making a deal with _Shukaku _but I felt as if I didn't have a choice. Now I know that I didn't need to make that deal and that I would have perfectly fine with no answering that question._

* * *

><p>The agonizing pain that was making it's way through Kiku's body had begun and she would of cursed to the full moon if she wasn't in so much pain. As she clutched the material of her shirt that was over her heart she gritted her teeth together. The tears flowing down her cheeks.<p>

"T-Temari" She mumbled for her sisters aid but it never came. As Kiku looked up she saw her sister backed up against the wall and another shot of pain drove it's way through her heart.

"Please-e" As she stood up the tears began to grow heavier as Kiku watched her older sister, the one who had protected her and made her feel human glared at her in fear. If there was a pain worse than what Shukaku was putting her through then it was the sight in front of her.

_Kill, you must kill._

Shukaku began to call out to her, commanding her to kill and satisfy his need for blood. It took all of Kiku's will power not to obey this demon's command and bring blood shed to the leaf. As Kiku stared at her unstable hands the vision of blood covering her hands that seemed to only be visible to her.

_Join your brother and kill._

Kiku's conciousness was being handed over to Shukaku with every passing moment and it wasn't long until her body was being controlled by the need to watch the life slowly slip away from any shinobi that decided to get in her way. As Kiku's mind was being transferred over, Temari was mumbling to herself.

"Stage one: Pain" As her voice shook slightly Temari put up one of her fingers to represent the first stage of Kiku's full moon routine.

"Stage two: Eyes" It took all of Temari strength to look at her younger sister to see if stage two had begun. It wasn't until Kiku had slowly began to stand up that Temari had confirmed that stage two had long since passed. The once teal eyes that held so much caring for all living things had turned into a dark crimson colour.

"Stage three: formation complete" Except this time it wasn't Temari who had spoken but Kiku. As she advanced on her sister slowly her crimson eyes narrowed slightly.

Her whole aura had changed. The kindness and nervous girl that cowered behind her siblings and didn't quite believe in herself was gone and replaced with a sadistic form that was being controlled by the need to kill. Once Kiku was standing in front of Temari she motioned her to turn and round; which Temari did without hesitation as the fear of disobeying her sister in this state was too much for her. As Kiku ripped the fan off the back of her elder sister she spun around on her heels and opened up the window of the room they were staying in. After handing half way out of the window to take in the fresh night hair she dropped out of the window and landed on the ground. As she as her feet made contact with the dusty path of Konoha, Kiku ran.

* * *

><p>"Gaara" As Kiku spoke her brothers name she jumped down from the roof and landed next to the lifeless body that was spread across the floor.<p>

" Aw, You killed without me, your not fun." The smirk that spread across her face didn't matched the girl that it belonged to. As Kiku kneeled down she dipped her fingers in the spilt blood as wiped it across her face to look like war paint.

"There are enough shinobi here for you to quench your thirst." With those words she stood up and held out Temari's fan.

"That is true, but you know how Shukaku is. He wants only the best blood, personally I couldn't care who or what it is but having part of him sealed within me means I do what he says" With those words Gaara had nodded before trying to attack Kiku with his sand, however she dodged it with her speed.

"Dearest brother, are we really going to go through this sparring ritual again? I find it rather tedious as no one wins."

"Kiku!"

"Dam it, Kiku. Your such a pain!"

"You have no control, so weak"

_Those voices. It sounds like Temari, Kankurō and Gaara and why am I laying in something wet? Oh right it was the full moon. Maybe if I don't open my eyes I won't have to see the blood and commotion I caused. _

"I know your awake! Don't make me get my puppets on you again!"

_I could really do with out Kankurō's yelling. My head feels as if my brain is trying to push it's way through my skull._

"Kankurō! Don't yell at her, you know how much pain she will be in and when she sees all of this blood it's not going to get any better." Temari's words confirmed the worries that were rising in Kiku's heart and with a pain filled groan she opened her eyes gently before sitting up. Kiku rubbed her eyes and scanned the room for anything unusual. It seemed that she was back in their hotel room but there was a stench of iron filling the air and when she looked down at her own hands she began to shake.

"Get it off!" Her voice was showing her terror as she ran into the bath room and instantly took a show. The blood that covered her body was washing down the drain but the blood in which she saw didn't seem to be leaving.

"Come on, get off. Get off" Kiku mumbled to herself as she tried to scrub off the non-existent blood from her hands.

* * *

><p><em>That was a low point for me, journal. I was a completely different person on the full moon. Shukaku would take control of me and of course because of the stupid bargain I mad with him during the written exam I found myself being hit worse with it.<em>


	5. Chapter 5

_When the first part of the chunin exams came rolling around Gaara was still in his state of blood lust and I, journal was becoming paranoid about the mission. I didn't want to hurt the friends that I had made in the leaf and no matter what I did, it seemed that my destiny was decided for me but before any of that I had to fight._

* * *

><p>Kiku's head was resting on the wall that separated the rest of the participants from the arena, the look on her face would of made anyone feel sorry for her. Fighting was the last thing she wanted to do and against Shino of all people. It would have been fine if it was against one of the sound genin or against her own siblings but being pinned against a leaf ninja didn't feel right to her.<p>

_I'm just glad it wasn't Shikamaru._

"Earth to Kiku!" Was all she heard as Kankurō pulled her up to her feet gently. When he patted her head a strange look flowed onto his face that could have been mistaken for sibling love. There were rare times that he would act like a caring older brother and all honesty it didn't suit him that well but as much as he didn't want to get too close to Kiku because of the sealing he still saw her as something innocent that needed protecting. As he retracted his hand, he gave her a light push and mumbled his words.

"Good luck" Kiku nodded gently at him before waving at him as she made her way down the steps towards the arena. The staring eyes of the spectators brought a tint of pink to her cheeks as she took her place opposite Shino.

Once the match had begun Kiku brought her sword out of its holder and glanced around the area for any small details that would help her win the battle. As her eyes came into contact with Shino and his bugs she jump, digging her sword into the ground and jumped to narrowly dodge his attack and landed on the handle with one foot. In one quick movement she pulled out the small scroll from her coat and opened it, releasing a dozen kunai into the arena and all missing Shino.

"What does she think she's doing?!" Ino yelled, gripping onto the barrier. It was with this that Shikamaru grumbled about her being troublesome before explaining the situation.

" She's setting up a plan. The kunai hit the walls, all separated out. There must be a reason for it, there are very few plans she could use." Shikamaru placed elbows on the wall before resting his chin on his hands, watching the red haired kunoichi.

Kiku jumped back to the ground and pulled her sword out the ground, tilting her head in a closed eye smile before speaking to her opponent.

"Your going to have to try harder than that. I'm pretty fast." As soon as those words left her mouth she infused her chakra into her legs and within seconds she was behind Shino. With a little giggle she went to lodge her sword in his back but was stopped by a mass of his bugs.

"Don't underestimate my power. Why? Because it will be bad for you" Kiku narrowed her eyes slightly at his words and jumped backwards to stable herself. Her eyes darted around the arena to look for a new plan.

_If I could build up enough speed I could convert that into power but how?_

Up in the stands, Choji was wide eyes, watching the strange girl from Suna fight without the smile disappearing from her beautiful face. It wasn't until Ino nudged him gently with a smirk that he snapped back to reality.

"Someone has a crush" She said in a singing voice as she looked down at Kiku. When Choji tried to deny it, she just laughed.

"I don't blame you, I wouldn't expect a Suna girl to look that way. I thought they'd all have a permanent sun tan but She's as pale as anything." All of the talk about Kiku made Choji's cheeks turn red. He tried to convince himself that he didn't like the jinchuuriki but the more he thought about her, the more he wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know why her hair was so long, why she seemed to smile at everything even when her eyes showed the pain, why she allowed her siblings to treat her so badly but most of all he wanted to know how someone with such an innocent and shy nature could fight like such a monster.

Kiku's fight with Shino continued with the same routine: Kiku would dodge his bugs and he would use his bugs to dodge her close range attacks. This was starting to frustrate her and so she put a new plan in action. Kiku pulled out a medium sized scroll from her other pocket and opened it up, facing Shino.

"Summing Justu: Sword Prison!" As the words left the red heads mouth a cage began to form round Shino to imprison him. Her plane was to use this to stop his movement and then use her speed to build up enough strength to knock him out using the kunai's she placed around the arena. However what she didn't account for was Shino using clones. As Kiku took a step to carry on with her place she felt a tug on her long hair. It wasn't until she turned round slightly that she saw Shino standing on her hair, her pupils contracting.

"Clones.."

"Yes, clones. Insect clones to be exact."

As he spoke she brought out her last kunai and brought it up to her hair. Kiku hesitated for a moment, the thought of cutting her hair would mean severing the last piece of her that people seemed to notice about her. Thoughts ran through her head as she whimpers and sliced through the thick,red mass and let it fall to the ground. Through the silence Ino could be heard, yelling but Kiku ignored it. When the severing was complete the hair that remained fell back in place and gently brushed her shoulders.

Their match carried on for what seemed like a life time until Shino was able to get the upper hand over Kiku and knocked her down to the ground with a loud thump. Kiku knew when she was beyond her limit and that time had come, as she coughed up a little blood she laid on her back and breathed heavily. Even though she had cuts across her face and down her left arm, she still found the time to smile.


End file.
